Former All-Star Wynn set to represent Astros at draft

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It’s DH time

The Astros will play just six interleague road games this year, a departure from the more common nine, but you can bet Carlos Lee will be at the forefront of their designated hitter plans.

Brad Mills said on the eve of the opener at Toronto that the big left fielder will see time at designated hitter during the three-game set. The Astros will also play three games at rival Texas but lose their third road interleague set when they visit the Dodgers an extra time because of the two extra National League teams.

“Any time that you get to interleague play and get the opportunities to get the guys some more at-bats is big,” Mills said.

Mills expects Brian Bogusevic to get at least one start, and Jason Michaels could get another. If the Astros go strictly on lefty-righty matchups, Michaels could face lefty Jo-Jo Reyes Friday and Bogusevic could play the weekend against Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek.

With one more start, Lee will pass Craig Biggio for the most regular-season starts at designated hitter by an Astros player. They both have 20, followed by Lance Berkman with 12, Daryle Ward with 11 and Jeff Bagwell with 10.

Astros pitchers are hitting a respectable .226 this year, but Mills is still happy to get them out of there.

“A lot of times, our pitchers, at least the first half of the season, swung the bats so well that they were on base so much, and you wonder how much that’s going to take a toll on them,” he said.

Canadian turf

The trip to Toronto will not only complete the circuit of American League teams the Astros have visited since the interleague scheduling gimmick began in 1997, but it will also mean a return to an artificial surface, which the Astros haven’t seen since 2009 at Minnesota.

No National League teams play on an artificial surface, and with the Twins moving into natural grass-filled Target Field, the Blue Jays and Rays are the only teams left with carpeting.

In that light, the Astros will take early batting practice and have their fielders feel out the surface in the process to get the hang of hops and any seams in the AstroTurf brand Game Day Grass, which was installed last year to reduce seams.

“It’s not like the old turf, so it’s not as fast, but it’s still pretty bouncy,” said Bill Hall, who played on it last year while with the Red Sox. “It’s still turf.”

The trip will also be the Astros’ first to Canada since the Expos left Montreal in 2004.

Silent representation

Former All-Star Jimmy Wynn and scout Edward Fastaia will represent the Astros at the Major League Baseball draft, which begins June 6.

Unlike last season, when representative Jeff Bagwell was able to announce the pick of supplemental first-rounder Mike Kvasnicka, the duo will have no such duties. The Astros have no supplemental first-round pick, and commissioner Bud Selig will read the name of the Astros’ No. 11 overall pick.

Odds and ends

Jeff Keppinger went with Class AAA Oklahoma City to Sacramento for a four-game series, and manager Brad Mills said this series will be key in determining when Keppinger can come back as he enters the second week of a maximum 20-day rehab assignment. … Wilton Lopez pitched an inning in relief Thursday, giving up one unearned run after fully shaking a 104-degree fever.